Contact Theatre

One of the first purpose-built theatres to be opened after the Second World War. It was fitted into the then expanding campus of the Victoria University of Manchester, designed with the aim of reinforcing academic teaching by practical work in a fully-equipped building. Externally undistinguished in brick with glass foyer area, the studio and some offices were housed in a separate, older building giving a main road presence. The design of stage and auditorium allowed interaction between audience and cast: an open end stage (16m wide) with house tabs and grid with 17 lines. Two thrust lifts were installed to form seating, orchestra or Elizabethan stage. Seating was in one raked tier which was significantly steeper at the rear.

In 1997 the theatre embarked on the redevelopment of its building, funded by a £4.5 million grant from the National Lottery.

The rebuild contains the shell of the old building but also includes new space which has been obtained. The transformation is radical. The theatre dominates the campus skyline with four gigantic brick H-pot stacks which almost double the original height of the building. A tall, zinc-clad false façade, a series of overlapping curtains, leads to an extensively expanded site with the original auditorium upgraded and Space 2, an adaptable space, on the first floor. The scene-dock has been enlarged together with workshop facilities and spacious front of house areas.

The original auditorium was stripped to its shell and reconstructed with a fixed parabolic seating rake and flexible forestage area.

The new façade has been the subject of much discussion and yet the architects claim it is the best way to provide an eco-friendly climate control. Certainly the building is rich in brickwork as well as overlapping metal sheeting, zinc and above all colour is the striking impression of a theatre which has benefited from redesign.

Since its reopening in 1999 the theatre has very much focussed on providing innovative, 'explosive new work' for young adults (ages 13-30), and the building makes use of all spaces for performance, activities, and public use in its cafes, galleries and throughout.